In an era dominated by doomscrolling and vibe coding, I find myself craving slowness.
Weaving laid the blueprint for computing. In the early 1800s, ‘computation’ happened through Jacquard looms. These looms used a sequence of punch cards to algorithmically process data row by row. This binary logic could create structurally complex woven images.
Punch cards would go on to be used on mainframe computers. People still wove computer core memory well into the 1960s, but textiles were seen as ‘women’s work’. Many technologists of the time dismissed weaving as passive and domestic. It would nevertheless become a covert vehicle for resistance.
Weaving is an invitation to slow down and ask: How can humans return to creating more personal and handmade computational systems?